Arrow, “Corto Maltese,” was written by the team of Erik Oleson and Beth Schwartz and directed by Stephen Surjik. Schwartz has been with the show since the first season, but Oleson and Surjik are new to the show. Oleson has also written for Unforgettable, Chase, and The Agency among others. Surjik has an impressive list of credits including Person of Interest, The Blacklist, Burn Notice, Warehouse 13, Psych, and Wayne’s World 2. This episode really focused on the women of Starling City – and their transformations.
The episode picks up 6 months ago and we dovetail back to the season two finale, picking up as Thea (Willa Holland) gets into that limo with Malcolm (John Barrowman). Barrowman once again delights as the bad guy we love to hate. For her part, Holland finally gets to be the character we can get behind – she’s no longer the spineless, damsel in distress. She is taking control of her life from the moment she steps into that limo. She tells Malcolm she wants to come with him and learn from him because he strikes her as someone who can teach her not to feel the horrible pain she is feeling at that moment. All of the flashbacks in this episode are dedicated to Thea’s transformation. Clearly, there is more to tell about her time with Merlyn, so I really hope we’ll see more of that.
Malcolm’s first lesson to Thea is that she must fight with her mind first and then her sword. She has to learn to master the pain – both mentally and physically. We’ve seen this lesson before – and it parallels Laurel’s (Katie Cassidy) story in this episode too. Merlyn tells her that after his wife died, he was angry and hurt – just as Thea is now – and that the pain was unbearable. He tells her that while pain is inevitable, suffering is optional. He then pours hot wax over her hand. Both Holland and Barrowman are terrific in these scenes – and the episode – as we see Thea transition from the spoiled rich girl into something far more interesting. Barrowman goes from the man yearning for another child to love and be loved by to the hardened teacher that Thea needs to become something more than she was.
Thea, of course, resists, telling Merlyn she’s not like him, but in the end, she does prove to be her father’s daughter – at least to the extent of being able to bear the pain and channel the suffering. By the time Oliver (Stephen Amell) finds her on Corto Maltese, she is almost a different person. She is far more self-possessed than we’ve seen her before and far less emotional. I loved the final scene at the airport when the coffee is spilt on her hand – just as the wax was earlier – and this time she doesn’t react – either to the pain or to her emotions – she doesn’t get angry with the guy who spills it. Oliver and Roy (Colton Haynes) both take note of it. Perhaps they are most suited to recognizing something from their own training. I also liked that Thea’s response was Oliver’s patented, “I’m fine.” The final sword fight in which Thea “wins” her freedom is quite magnificent. Once again, my admiration for the outstanding stunt and fight team on this show knows no bounds!
Of course, the trip to Corto Maltese couldn’t just be about Thea. If I had one complaint about this episode it’s that it may have tried to do too much. When Diggle (David Ramsey) tells Lyla (Audrey Marie Anderson) about the trip, she suddenly has some ARGUS business for him to take care of. It was fun watching Oliver essentially work for Diggle in this episode. Unfortunately, Diggle’s interactions with Mark Shaw (David Cubitt) raise all kinds of questions about what ARGUS does to its employees – something we already know from Oliver’s flashbacks is more than questionable.
Clearly, this is going to be an issue going forward, but I’m really enjoying Diggle’s happy family life and it’s nice to see one of the team able to have that so I hope that they aren’t preparing us for breaking that up. I also hope that Anderson gets to do more than play baby-momma (not that that isn’t an important role, but I’d love to see Diggle at home juggling the baby and his other work while she’s in the field too).
I thought it was a really nice touch when Roy was about to pack his bow and had to be told that it wouldn’t be allowed on the plane. Of course Roy would never have been on a plane before! How could a poor kid ever have afforded that? I also really liked Oliver’s homemade bows later in the episode. And of course, the quote of the week, that we’ve been seeing in promos for some time, was Oliver saying that he never said he couldn’t use a gun! As always there is lots of great action in the episode from the first chase scene to the skirmish on Corto Maltese.
Roy and Oliver both appeal to Thea to come home, but take very different approaches. Roy tells Thea all he ever wanted was for her to be happy, and he tells her to stay on the Island if that’s what makes her happy. Thea also appears to still care for Roy as she asks him if he’s ok. He tells her that he hasn’t been sleeping. This is new information – but spoilers would indicate that Roy is likely having nightmares about what happened when he was under the influence of the mirakuru. No doubt this is a story thread that will be picked up in the future.
Oliver knows he has to come clean with the truth in order to win his sister back, but Diggle tells him not to because the truth will just re-enforce how much Oliver has lied. Thea tells him that it’s not his own secrets that she’s mad about him keeping but the secrets about her own life. Oliver tells her about Robert’s sacrifice on the lifeboat. He then tells her that while she may not need him, he needs her. Oliver’s plea then, interestingly, is much more selfish than Roy’s. In the end, Thea decides to go home, but now she is the one keeping secrets.
Meanwhile, back in Starling City, Laurel tries to deal with her anger. Cassidy is doing a terrific job with this storyline, and like Holland, she must be relishing this new direction for her character. I know there has been some dissatisfaction with the character, but I hope now that the writers have put Laurel on the path to becoming Black Canary that we will see more consistency with the character. I liked using Laurel’s being at a meeting to reveal how she was feeling – that she was angry and didn’t know what to do with it, but that she didn’t feel like drinking. I was also relieved that we wouldn’t be revisiting that story line.
I know a lot of people, myself included, were rolling their eyes at Laurel’s stupidity to don a balaclava and attack the boyfriend in a dark alley. On the other hand, she did own her own stupidity. She explains to Quentin (Paul Blackthorne) that she “needed the world to be different.” She knew the world wasn’t fair and that people who should be punished most often weren’t. Rather a bleak declaration from a public prosecutor! Of course, Quentin tells her that she’s not the Arrow or her sister, which is simply a red flag to her, hardening her resolve.
Laurel isn’t stupid though and knows she needs training and goes to Oliver first. Like Quentin, Oliver’s first concern is keeping those he cares about safe, so he refuses to train her. I thought Amell and Cassidy were both great in this scene. Laurel then goes back to the gym she was at in the beginning of the episode. She asks Ted (JR Ramirez) to train her. Ted Grant is better known to those familiar with the comics – and those familiar with spoilers! – as Wildcat. So good on Laurel for instinctively going to an undercover superhero!
And the last of our female leads to embark on a new journey this episode is Felicity (Emily Bett Rickards). She begins her new job with Ray Palmer (Brandon Routh). She starts out by laying down the ground rules – this time there will be NO getting coffee! I loved this scene and Routh really shines in it as he looks curiously at Felicity. While we know Oliver values her, he does still take her for granted in many ways. Ray, however, truly values her special intellect. I loved it as she learns she has her OWN person assistant – Gerry Conway (David Kaye). Gerry Conway, of course, is also the name of the comics author who created the character of Felicity Smoak…. I also loved Felicity’s face when she realizes that she’s just been given Oliver’s old office.
Of course, Felicity is now juggling two very full time jobs. And this is also a nice shout out to Rickards herself, who is doing double duty between Starling and Central cities. I loved the scene in which Felicity is briefing Ray and then takes calls from Diggle and Laurel who both need information and help too. Ray is not stupid, however, and it can’t be long until he grows more curious about what Felicity is doing in her “spare” time. This is clearly also going to be a problem for Felicity as she is pulled in multiple directions. How will she manage to balance everything? Will she have to choose?
We are no doubt heading to a confrontation between team Arrow and team Malcolm. I would love to see Thea and Oliver confront each other – with masks on – and actually recognize each other by their eyes. Too much to hope for? This was a very packed episode, but it’s great to see the women characters all getting exciting storylines. The episode ends with Nyssa (Katrina Law) showing up wanting answers for the disappearance of her lover – Sara. One of the most disappointing elements of Sara’s passing – other than the loss of Caity Lotz was the loss of this relationship.
What did you think of the episode? Whose storyline are you most excited to see play out? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!
